Duncan Gets Spooked Rewrite
by DuckGWR08
Summary: A rewrite I worked on with DonaldDouglasandToby6


Duncan Gets Spooked

Based on the original episode by Britt Allcroft, David Mitton, and David Maidment

Adapted by DuckGWR08

It was fall on the Island of Sodor. As the passenger traffic was going down for the season, The Thin Controller took the opportunity to clear the line. Soon, the narrow gauge engines of the Skarloey Railway were busy clearing their railway of fallen trees, leaves, and branches. One morning, Peter Sam and his crew were restoring an old line to the slate quarry. The Thin Controller had decided to reopen the line in order to provide an alternative, quicker route for slate deliveries. Workmen were cutting down old trees and sawing off branches, which were placed in Peter Sam's trucks. The trucks, as much as they liked Peter Sam, were not enjoying themselves, and were making the job very tedious.

"This is boring!" one wailed.

"When do we get to go back to the quarry?" another complained.

"Why don't you silly trucks behave?" groaned Peter Sam.

He was starting to think he'd go mad if he listened to the trucks any longer.

"Don't worry old boy, we're nearly finished." chuckled his driver.

Just then, Rusty arrived with Mr. Hugh.

"Hello, Peter Sam!" greeted Rusty. "I see things are going quite well. You and the workmen are doing a splendid job."

"Indeed." said Mr. Hugh, stepping out of Rusty's brake van. "At this rate, we'll be able to open the line by next week."

"Thank you." Peter Sam said proudly. He then sighed as his trucks giggled sinisterly. "But I'm running low on water and these trucks are heavy and troublesome. I doubt they'd let me go up the hill to the water tower, but I could really go for a drink."

"Would you mind helping us up to the water tower?" his driver asked.

"Not at all." smiled Rusty. "After all this hard work, you deserve some refreshment."

Rusty buffered up behind Peter Sam's trucks, and the two engines hauled them up the gradient, where a water tower and a small signal box were waiting. Peter Sam's driver opened his water tank and filled it up to the brim.

"Thanks, Rusty!"

"No problem. I'll be off then, we must continue to inspect the line."

Rusty switched onto the loop siding and rolled away.

Peter Sam felt much better after his long drink, but the trucks were still bored. Then, the front truck got an idea.

"I'm tired of being lugged around by Mr. Special Funnel over here. I say we break away!"

The other trucks giggled.

"Finally, some excitement!"

"Hold back!" whispered the leader.

Their loads were heavy and their couplings were old and rusty. The front truck's coupling suddenly snapped. Peter Sam felt a jolt.

"Hurrah! Hurrah!" laughed the trucks as they rolled down the hill.

"Uh oh."

"We've lost them!" cried the driver. "Back, Peter Sam, back!"

Peter Sam gulped and quickly reversed after them.

"Faster, faster!" shrieked the trucks, racing down the line.

The old line crossed an iron bridge, which lay above a deep ravine with a muddy swamp at the bottom. The rails were weak and the sleepers were rotting. Signs had been put up warning the engines to go slow. But the trucks were going so fast that they couldn't read it. Not that they could slow down anyway; their guard had jumped clear. The trucks sped onto the bridge. Their weight put so much pressure on the old rails that they began to rumble. Suddenly, one of the rails snapped out of place. The rear truck gasped.

"Stop! Stop!" he cried.

But it was too late. The trucks hit the loose rail and tumbled off the bridge, their couplings breaking in the process. One by one, they plunged into the muddy swamp, screaming as they fell.

Peter Sam arrived on the scene to see the wreckage below.

"Oh dear…" he whimpered as the trucks sank into the mud.

"This was our fault…" groaned the driver. "We forgot to secure them properly. The Thin Controller won't like this…"

Butch and Harold were called to fish the trucks out of the ravine, and the old rails were replaced. That evening, the Thin Controller came to the sheds. Surely enough, he wasn't pleased to hear of the accident.

"I thought you knew how to handle trucks, Peter Sam." he said disapprovingly.

Peter Sam was not used to getting into trouble.

"Y-Yes sir… S-Sorry sir…" was all he could muster.

"I should think so too. Now we will have to delay the opening."

"It was really my fault," confessed the driver, scratching the back of his head as he stroke up to the Thin Controller, "I should've checked the coupling."

The Thin Controller nodded coldly.

"Then both you and Peter Sam shall be kept under a watchful eye until I can trust you again."

Rusty felt sorry for Peter Sam.

"Sir, he was excellent clearing the line today. Mr. Hugh can vouch for him."

The Thin Controller looked at Rusty and sighed.

"I am well aware of that, Rusty."

He turned back to Peter Sam.

"Therefore, you will shunt in the transfer yards for the next few weeks. Perhaps you had too much on your timetable. I'm sure taking on lighter duties will ensure less mistakes."

"Yes, sir." Peter Sam said sadly.

The Thin Controller turned on his heel and strode away. Duncan who, was in the shed too, could only laugh at Peter Sam's dilemma.

"Ha, what carelessness we have here!" he teased, "And everyone thought ye were a goody-good! Fancy not securing your trucks on the hill!"

Peter Sam shot him an annoyed look.

"Those trucks'll probably be scrapped now. Ye ought to be on yer guard tonight!"

"What? Why?" said Peter Sam nervously.

"Because when ye're not looking, their ghosts will come back to spook ye and yer special funnel. _Whooo!_ "

Peter Sam jumped in fright. Duncan laughed again.

"A clumsy engine, and a scaredy one too!"

Rusty scowled.

"And who's to say you're not afraid of ghosts?" he snapped.

Duncan snorted.

"Pah! Things that go bump in the night? It's all rubbish!"

Rusty smirked to Peter Sam.

"That's what you think," Rusty grinned, "I'll tell you a ghost story that'll make your funnel quiver!"

"Sure…"

Rusty cleared his throat.

" _It was a long time ago. One misty, moonlit night, a little engine was returning home. As he crossed the old iron bridge, he suddenly lost control and plunged over the side into the swamps below!_ "

Peter Sam shuddered. Duncan just scoffed.

" _He was never seen again. But on nights when the moon is full, much like the one the accident occurred, many-a-workman will tell you that they have seen the little engine trying to get home. But he never reaches the other side._ "

"I-I was just on that bridge!" Peter Sam gasped to himself.

"So, what do you think of that, Duncan?" Rusty smirked.

Duncan rolled his eyes.

"A load of rubbish from a silly wee diesel. Ye can't scare me _that_ easily."

Duncan then set off to pull his evening passenger train. But as confident as he sounded, he felt a slight chill in his boiler.

"That story didn't actually happen, did it?" Peter Sam asked anxiously.

"Of course not." chuckled Rusty. "It's only an old Sudrian legend."

Peter Sam sighed with relief.

"It was a good try, Rusty."

"Never mind Duncan, Peter Sam. He'd be frightened if he really _did_ see a ghost!"

Just then, a wicked smirk crossed Peter Sam's driver's face.

"That gives me an idea… Let's play a trick on Duncan!"

Rusty and Peter Sam shared a look.

"I'm listening…" said Rusty curiously.

"We'll fool him into thinking that ghost is real."

"How?" asked Peter Sam skeptically.

"Well, if I can get Duncan's crew in on it, then we'll do it. They'd throw a rock from his cab into the ravine, and Peter Sam can shine his light on the other end of the bridge."

Rusty giggled while Peter Sam looked doubtfully.

"Are you sure? That's kind of mean."

"Oh Peter Sam, get a sense of humor," huffed the driver.

"It'll serve Duncan right for teasing you!" chuckled Rusty.

"Well… alright," conceded Peter Sam, "but I better not get into trouble for this."

"That's the spirit!" laughed his driver, slapping his leg in delight.

The next morning, Peter Sam's driver spoke to Duncan's crew. He told them about his plan, to which they agreed enthusiastically.

"That'll get 'im to behave!" laughed Duncan's driver.

"We'll do it tonight." said the fireman.

"What are ye talking about?" yawned Duncan from inside his shed.

"Oh, uh, nothing!"

Duncan narrowed his eyes, suspicious, but was too tired to dwell on it. His job that day was to pick up where Peter Sam had left off on the old line. This meant crossing the old iron bridge. He picked up some empty trucks and was on his way.

"Haunted bridge…rubbish!" he snorted as he crossed the bridge. "It's as tame as a pet rabbit…"

But all the same, he kept thinking about Rusty's story. The late afternoon sun shone on him as he sat in the clearing, thinking about ghosts.

" _Surely if that had actually happened the engine would have been found...right?"_

After they had finished cleaning up the line, Duncan was set to take a slate train back from the quarry. He watched anxiously as trucks went up and down the incline; he was keen to leave.

"If we don't leave now, Skarloey will take my favorite place in the sheds!" he protested.

"Patience, Duncan." advised his driver. "We must collect our trucks first."

He could see that the plan was working, because Duncan was growing nervous.

Night had fallen by the time they finally set off. The moon shone bright, and the mists were rising around the old iron bridge. Duncan's thoughts were racing as he made his way down the line. The bare trees and bushes that had been trimmed during the day gave ominous shadows.

"No such thing as ghosts...no such thing as ghosts…" he muttered to himself, in an attempt to ease his anxieties.

But it did no good. As they approached the bridge, he whistled loudly. The sound echoed through the ravine. Duncan gulped. On the other side of the bridge, Peter Sam and his driver stood, waiting for Duncan to cross. They were hidden by the thick mist surrounding the bridge.

"I feel kind of bad for going this far." said Peter Sam. " After all, it was only a bit of teasing."

"Hush." said his driver. "Here he comes."

Duncan puffed slowly onto the old iron bridge. The supports creaked beneath him. He was about halfway across when he saw something ahead that made him stop dead in his tracks. Peter Sam's lamp shone brightly through the mist.

"H-hello?" Duncan whimpered. "Who's there?"

Then, a whistle was heard. Duncan jumped. It was only Peter Sam's, which his driver had distorted so as not to blow their cover.

"Skarloey, i-is that you?"

At that moment, Duncan's fireman secretly dropped a rock from the cab into the ravine below. The splash was the final straw. Duncan's pupils shrank and his face went pale.

" **It's the ghost!** " he wailed. " **Take me back! Take me back, please!** "

Peter Sam and his driver heard everything. They howled with laughter.

"We got him!"

Duncan's driver held back laughter himself as he reversed the accelerator. Duncan shot backwards and wailed all the way back to the quarry. When they returned, Duncan's trucks were uncoupled and he was parked in the quarry shed with his eyes shut tight.

"Spooked, are ya Duncan?" laughed his driver.

"No! I'm asleep!"

Duncan refused to open his eyes, but opened them when he was sure his crew wasn't looking. He wanted to make sure they were still there.

The next morning, Duncan awoke to a shrill horn.

"Ah! Ghost! Go away!" he screamed.

"It's only me, Duncan!" chuckled Rusty.

Duncan blinked. Sure enough, Rusty was standing in front of him, wearing a cheeky smile.

"Rusty! You were right! Ghosts are real! I heard the ghost engine! _I saw its light!"_

"No they aren't, silly! That story isn't true!"

"...it isn't?"

"Of course not! We played a trick on you, Duncan"

"A trick?!"

"That was Peter Sam on the other end of the bridge."

"And we threw a rock from your cab!" laughed Duncan's driver.

Duncan's face went red with embarrassment. He scowled as the others laughed.

"How dare ye!"

"Serves you right for teasing Peter Sam." said Rusty smugly.

Duncan said nothing more as he was coupled up to his trucks and restarted his journey. But he was now relieved that he hadn't seen the ghost after all.

"No such thing as ghosts...pah! I knew that!" he said to himself.

Later that day, Rusty arrived at the transfer yards to find Peter Sam shunting some coal trucks.

"That was quite an impressive show of yours!" chuckled Rusty.

"Thanks, Rusty!" said Peter Sam proudly.

"You should have seen him!" Peter Sam's driver laughed.

Just then, Skarloey puffed in to collect some coaches.

"What are you two talking about?"

"We played a trick on Duncan last night." oiled Rusty. "We scared him with that old ghost story!"

"What ghost story?"

"You know, that silly one about the engine who fell off the old iron bridge." said Peter Sam.

Skarloey's eyes widened.

"Oh dear. You don't mean..."

There was a grave tone in his voice.

"...what?" said Peter Sam and Rusty together.

"Where did you hear that story?" Skarley asked suspiciously.

"Driver told me; he said he had heard it from yours." answered Rusty.

Skarloey sighed, and then shuddered.

Rusty and Peter Sam weren't smiling anymore.

"...I remember that engine from my early days. He was a spare engine to help us run the line before Sir Handel and Peter Sam arrived. One day Rheneas and I were told that he had gone missing. We went out with a search party, but found nothing. Nothing until our controller informed us what had happened."

Peter Sam and Rusty were shocked. Peter Sam in particular.

"Y-you mean..."

"I already reassured Duncan..."

The yard went silent.

"...Rheneas and I agreed never to speak of him. We figured it disrespectful." Skarloey said at last. "I suggest you two do the same."

And he slowly puffed away with his coaches. Rusty was still. Peter Sam was pale. They had never felt such excruciating guilt. Duncan then passed through the transfer yard with his slate trucks. He glared at the two engines.

"Fancy playing a trick like that. Scarin' me half to death…" he grumbled. "Makin' me think some stupid ghost was real…"

Peter Sam and Rusty looked at each other.

"Should we tell him?" asked Peter Sam.

"No." Rusty said sternly. "After what we've put him through, he deserves some peace of mind."

Rusty looked up at the sky.

"And we owe the spirits a huge apology…"


End file.
